Military Nesties
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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Has anyone attended a technical college?
Now that I've changed my mind about our kid-status in the next few years I'm looking into going back to school. I'm kind of impatient and don't want to take the traditional 4 years for a Bachelor's degree so I've been checking out some technical colleges (more specifically, ITT Tech for their :nerd alert!: Digital Entertainment & Game Design Bachelor's of Science program).
Has anyone attended a technical college? What was your experience with it? Were you able to find a job in your field following graduation? I'm a little concerned that a degree from there won't be taken as seriously by employers as one from a 4-year university.
67/200
Re: Has anyone attended a technical college?
I've been told by my brother who has a degree from a technical college that it is twice as expensive and he had to work for his stepfather because he couldn't find a job and this was back when the economy was still good. And he still doesn't work in the field his degree is in. It is a useless piece of paper now.
I've personally never looked into a technical school. I don't think they are the best colleges out there. I also side-eye phoenix type schools and ITT tech falls into that category for me.
I did. I went to Concorde and it was the biggest waste of time and money. I went for patient care tech, which I was planning to follow up with a RN program. It has allowed me to get the job in the Dr. office, but it's nothing worth the money I spent on that school. It wasn't a 'degree program', but I have a friend who is doing the RN program through the same school and I fear places won't take her seriously.
I also noticed that these places will do anything and everything to get people to walk in and sign up, no matter their education level. While that sounds great, it was extremely frustrating that someone that probably didn't graduate HS was holding up the class because she didn't understand anything.
All in all, I would NEVER go to a tech school again. I honestly really regret it. Once we figure out if H will be able to cross train in Jan. I'll enroll at a university/community college.
ETA: They are absolutely 2x+ more money than other schools. I could have gotten my same education at for 1/5 of the price I paid.
That's the most aggravating thing about the military and school. We will be moving again next year and probably half way through a semester so I will have to take a semester off again. And go on to my 5th college. It is ridiculous. My school counselor said he has never seen someone who attended this many colleges in as few year as I have and without a degree to show for it.
ETA: No, I'm on my 5th college. My next one will be my 6th. Bleh.
Mary- Your best bet is attending a community college to get your AA then go on to a 4 yr school to get your BA. I am almost done with my AA and I have no student loans.
I am more jealous than you know. I just looked up what I have racked up and it made me sick. I should have my BA for what I have paid for schools.
E is going to ITT Tech right now. I had a lot of reluctance about it because I went to a traditional 4 year college. It works for what he is wanting to do and yes its going to cost us more than I would like to think about right now, but he's happy.
Mary make sure you look into the length of the programs. E has to do an almost 3 year "AA" degree before he works on the "BS" degree.
Things to think about (pp's have mentioned some)
-time to completion
-reputation of that specific campus (some have better reps than others)
-how much it costs (for profits = $$$$$ and that pretty much their financial aid = loans)
- transferrability of credits)
- actual job possibilities once you gradute (and jobs doing what you really want to do). Often, they pump out tons of graduates for a field that doesnt need that many professional.
Another vote for looking into local community colleges or universities to see if you can get the same type degree elsewhere for less money... But at the end of the day, you may find (not sure) that ITT tech has the only program you are interested in, or this program seems worth it to you. And thats ok too, just go into it fully knowing what you're getting into. Stand-alone for profit schools have the highest default rate on student loans for a reason.
ETA: I forgot to mention that I think it is great you want to go to school. I dont want you to think I am discouraging that AT ALL, I'm just advocating that you do a lot of research before jumping right in.
I changed my name
Putting aside the reputability of ITT Tech because everyone else has given you good advice on that front, have you done any research into the job market for game designers? It stinks. I actually have a friend in the field, and it took him the better part of 5 years just to get his foot in the door, and then another 3 to go from being an unpaid intern to a low-paid programmer. This was when the economy was doing well and with a BS in Computer Science from a top school. Thank goodness his wife was able to support them (she's a pharmacist) while he pursued his dream.
I'm not trying to discourage you from going after your goal, but make sure you have a realistic idea of the job market before you get yourself into debt for a degree you may never be able to use.
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Pretty much what I was going to say. TCC offers a pretty decent program for the arts if you want to get your studio classes out of the way. Any chance you would want to look into VCU for their programs? I understand not wanting to have to go through 4 years of education when you want to start your career sooner than that; but with the economy the way it is - there really are no short cuts.
My brother is currently attending a technical school in order to become a machinist. As far as I know he is much more likely to get hired as a machinist by completing that program than from any other type of "normal" college or program.
That said, the community college I'm going to right now has some more "technical" certificates and programs available. I would imagine that no matter where you go, if you can build an impressive portfolio employers shouldn't care where your education is from.
I would make sure to check out the instructors before you commit to anything. Find out if the majority of them have actually worked in the business and know how to help you get where you're going. I've found that it's really great to be able to ask the teacher questions that begin with "in your personal and professional experience" and get a quality answer.
Lastly, be sure to talk with the program adviser for whatever places you consider. Let them know your educational background, your goals and everything and see what advice they can give you.
I was going to add to my response, but then I saw this. Mary I strongly encourage you to get a hold of some real live people who currently do what you want to do and interview them. It can be eye-opening and you may want to keep your current idea, or you may even come up with a better idea just from talking to people.
While I was in California for Blizzcon I actually got the chance to talk to some of the leading game designers for Blizzard- which is really what prompted me to consider this as my own career. I want to love my job after 25 years too!
I did some research into the best schools with game design and programming- the closest one is in D.C.
/ I'm also looking into more generic degrees like web/multimedia design.
This all just hypothetical stuff right now, but I'm feeling good about getting ideas. It's a step in the right direction at least.
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There are times that nationally accredited schools are more appropriate, often for specific trades. IMO, your skills will be much better regarded if your transcript/resume shows regionally accredited schools.
Not that you asked for it, but your best bet would be to head over to your local community college and talk to someone there. While you decide what you want to study, you can knock out some prerequisite classes. It will get you back into a classroom--AND may give you an opportunity to meet people. You might find a few young married ladies who are waiting to have kids.
Good luck with determining what career field interests you!